Shrikhand
Shrikhand is an easy and delicious Indian dessert made from yogurt. The traditional method can take hours to make. I specify the traditional method to prepare this here. If you are anything like me; impatient – then here is a trick that will get you this finger licking dessert in minutes. The trick is to use thick Greek Yogurt, so you can eliminate the process of draining the water. It can served with puri ( an Indian fried flat bread) or as a standalone dessert. I promise you will have your fingers licking with this one.
INGREDIENTS
1 kg thick curds (dahi or yogurt)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
a few saffron (kesar) strands dissolved in 1 tbsp warm milk
2 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder
Charoli or Chironji
A pinch of salt
Garnish
Almond slivers
Pistachio slivers
METHOD
- Hang the curds in a muslin cloth in a cool place for approx. 3 hours until all the liquid (whey) has drained off.
- Next gently squeeze the excess water from yogurt. Make sure not to squeeze out the yogurt. What you are left with is hung curd or ‘Chakka’
- If you have Greek Yogurt, skip step 1 & 2.
- Combine the hung curds, sugar, saffron mixture, charoli and cardamom powder in a bowl and mix well till the mixture becomes smooth.
- Add a pinch of salt for enhanced taste. ( Trust me on this one )
- Serve chilled with hot puris, garnished with almond and pistachio slivers.
Charoli are small seeds, eaten like a nut. It resembles a lentil but is as soft as a pine nut and the flavor is similar to a hazelnut. Charoli are used in Indian cooking for desserts like kheer, payassam or in savoury dishes like koftas. If you have trouble sourcing this in your supermarket, you can totally omit this and use only the dry fruits. It tastes great without it too.
A popular variation to Shrikhand is Aamrakhand. Aamra means mango in Marathi. Mango pulp is added to Shrikhand to make Aamrakhand. And you shall be amazed how a humble mango elevates this dessert to another level. Add a hint of nutmeg and adjust the amount of sugar you use depending on how sweet the mango is.
Do try this and do not forget to like, comment and share if you like what you see here. 🙂
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Love & Hugs,
Trupti
😋👍
Thank you Madhuri 🙂